Delaware Art MuseumUnderstanding the Impact of Programming at the Delaware Art Museum

Hosted at Delaware Art Museum from April 1 - May 28, 2023, Estampas de la Raza showcased 61 screen prints and lithographs created by Chicano artists, primarily based in California and Texas, collected by Harriet and Ricardo Romo, and donated to the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio. Although the featured artists mostly live on the West Coast, the prints reflect the interests and experiences of Mexican American and Latinx people throughout the United States. For close to a decade before the exhibition opened, DelArt had been developing partnerships with organizations and leaders within the Latinx community, and Estampas de la Raza supported the Museum’s efforts to continue deepening these connections.

In partnership with the Los Abuelos program at the Latin American Community Center, artist Cesar Viveros hosted a series of workshops with seniors as a part of the Museum’s art and wellness program, which was created to address health-based disparities in the community, including a significant lack of access to healthcare and healing services to improve mental health for older adults. Engaging with seniors was relatively new for DelArt, and these workshops featured bilingual instruction in printmaking, which had never been offered for this population at the Museum.

Inspired by the exhibition’s themes and printmaking styles, Mexican American fashion designer Juliet Zavala designed, produced, and shared original pieces that incorporate upcycled materials to showcase culture, heritage, and icons. Building on DelArt’s previous success with fashion installations, these pieces were shown alongside the works of other Mexican American and Latinx fashion designers in the first of its kind fashion show for the local community.

Working in collaboration with DelArt, CARE developed two survey instruments focused on measuring the outcomes of the workshop and fashion show. Collaboration between CARE and DelArt was funded by Art Bridges in order to measure the impact of Healing Through the Arts. CARE collaborated directly with members of DelArt to home in on the specific questions and needs of their evaluation program. This collaboration started in 2022 when an evaluation plan was drafted. Throughout early 2023, the evaluation plan was edited based on conversations with the DelArt team. Eventually, another survey was added for the fashion show program after conversations with DelArt staff revealed a need.

The goals of the evaluation were that at least 75% of participants agree or strongly agree with the following statements:

1. Deepen relationships with Mexican American / Latinx communities locally:
   - The workshop was a positive experience.
   - They would participate in another workshop.
   - They want to visit Delaware Art Museum again.
2. Amplify local Latinx voices:
   - They felt they can share their values.
   - The exhibition succeeded in promoting Latinx artists.
   - They could express their emotions.
   - They could relate better to their peers.
3. Support artmaking as a medium for contemporary action:
   - The workshop helped them develop new skills.
   - They felt a sense of success.
   - They engaged with the community.

Surveys were chosen because they are a method that allows for data collection across all participants with the minimum impact on the attendees’ time and effort. Further data was collected via a post-workshop reflection with the teaching artist and a count of participant attendance. This post-workshop reflection asked the teaching artist to consider specific positive and negative experiences observed, how well the workshop resonated with participants, and how they felt DelArt could continue to foster relationships in the Latinx community.

Data was collected by the DelArt team after the survey was designed by CARE. This collaboration with CARE lessened the burden on DelArt by providing expertise on survey design and allowing DelArt to focus on running the program with the relatively low lift of administering the survey. Furthermore, CARE was able to facilitate a Spanish language translation of the survey, and that was an integral component of making this evaluation accessible to their attendees.

CARE staff generated descriptive statistics (e.g., how many attendees gave a particular rating to each question) for the close-ended, Likert scale data and thematically analyzed the open-ended comments, pulling representative quotes to illustrate these patterns. CARE combined this quantitative and qualitative data into a visual report featuring charts, quotes, and supporting copy to demonstrate the impact and outcomes of these programs.

Attendees felt like the programming succeeded in promoting Latinx artists and that the workshops positively improved their well-being by allowing them to develop new skills, make new connections, and stay engaged with their community. Attendees also mentioned that they learned more about Mexican Americans and Latinx people through the programs. Not only did attendees feel like the workshops had a positive impact on their well-being, but they also rated that they felt comfortable expressing their values and sharing their beliefs.

When attendees were asked what they would like to see in the future, they mentioned wanting more events like this at DelArt because they had not had the opportunity to engage with Mexican American and Latinx art like this in the past. They wished the programs were longer, held more frequently, included other cultural activities, featured other guest artists, and provided food. These insights will inform DelArt’s future programming as it continues to host exhibitions that engage its local communities.

We love this project because Delaware Art Museum was able to leverage the resources provided by Art Bridges to create a compelling exhibition supplemented by engaging public programming, and with evaluation support from CARE at Crystal Bridges, they were able to quantify the positive impact of these programs and identify opportunities for continued development.

For more information about this project, please see this report or contact Brittany Vernon, Director of Learning & Engagement and Evaluation, at [email protected].